Apparatus and method for manufacturing of steel and other support material structures with carbon capture capability and high efficiency

ABSTRACT

An apparatus includes a template-former, a growth template, having a surface area containing three-dimensional features; a container which includes or retains electrolytes or other fluids from which materials are deposited, removed, or modified onto the growth template or to a structure-in-production; and a computer to plan and control said deposition, removal, or modification.

CROSS-REFERENCE AND PRIORITY CLAIM

This patent application claims priority to U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 63/284,906, entitled “APPARATUS AND METHOD FORMANUFACTURING OF STEEL AND OTHER SUPPORT MATERIAL STRUCTURES WITH CARBONCAPTURE CAPABILITY AND HIGH EFFICIENCY,” filed Dec. 1, 2021, thedisclosure of which being incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety.

FIELD

Disclosed embodiments are directed to an apparatus and method offabricating materials for support structures with high efficiency.

BACKGROUND

Approximately 60% of the world's steel is generated by basic oxygensteelmaking, a process first patented by Henry Bessemer in 1856 andgradually scaled up from 1940s through the 1970s. Electric arc furnaces,scaled up in the 1960s and 1970s by Nucor Corporation, are moreefficient than basic oxygen furnaces, and enable steelmaking to be doneusing only scrap metal steel as the feedstock, significantly reducingthe carbon footprint of the method. Further reductions in carbon dioxide(CO2) emissions from the steelmaking process and life cycle analysis ofcradle-to-grave carbon footprint of steelmaking has been assessed, astaught by C. Hoffman, M. Van Hoey, B. Zeumer, “Decarbonizing challengefor steel”, McKinsey Insights: McKinsey & Company Metals and Mining,Jun. 3, 2020, to help in coming up with strategies to reduce the carbonfootprint of steel production. Hydrogen-based steelmaking processesgenerate less CO2 than conventional furnaces, but also require moreenergy (to produce the hydrogen). If the energy to make hydrogen isproduced by burning fossil fuels, then the overall carbon production isnot diminished. There is therefore strong incentive to make steel withlower energy costs, while reducing carbon footprint of the productionprocess.

SUMMARY

In accordance with the disclosed embodiments, an apparatus may include:(1) a template-former or similar material-producing component (thatproduces conducting material to build at least one segment of a growthtemplate, said growth template containing three-dimensional features);(2) a container or other structure or stream which include or retainelectrolytes or other fluids; (3) electrolytes or other fluids fromwhich materials are deposited, removed, or modified onto said growthtemplate or to a structure-in-production; (4) a potentiostat to controlsaid deposition, removal, or modification; (5) electrodes to implementsaid deposition, removal, or modification; (6) a computer to plan andcontrol said deposition, removal, or modification; and (7) a monitoringdevice that is used by the computer to plan and control said deposition,removal, or modification.

In accordance with the disclosed embodiments, a method for buildingstructures, may include: (1) planning construction of a growth templateand deposition, removal, or modification of materials onto the growthtemplate and structure-in-production; (2) production of one or moresections of a growth template; (3) addition, removal, or modification ofelectrolytes or other fluids from which materials are to be deposited,removed, or modified onto said growth template orstructure-in-production; (4) growth or removal or modification of ontosaid growth template or structure-in-production; (5) monitoring saidstructure-in-production; (6) repetition of any or all of the aboveoperations; and (7) removal of the produced structure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 illustrates an embodiment of the apparatus including atemplate-former and a growth template;

FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a multi-level three-dimensional growthtemplate according to the disclosed embodiments; and

FIG. 3 illustrates a flowchart of a method to produce a materialaccording to the disclosed embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Disclosed embodiments describe an apparatus and methods to produce amaterial (e.g., steel) for use in a support structure, and to producethe novel steel structure itself (termed “produced structure”). Untilthe produced structure is complete, it is termed a“structure-in-production”. Disclosed embodiments describe manufacturingof support structures, for example, steel beams. Steel has been broadlyused in manufacturing parts and components ranging in size from tens ofmeters to tens of micrometers. Steel parts and components are ubiquitousin a broad range of industries, including but not limited to buildingconstruction, automotive transportation, production machinery, food andbeverage, medical devices, appliances, and piping. For suchapplications, improvements in energy efficient manufacturing methods,which emit less carbon over the product lifecycle are desirable. Bulksteel alloys, as well as microstructure-engineered steel are currentlyused according to their specific properties across industries andapplications. Disclosed embodiments provide an apparatus and method forefficient fabrication of support structures made of steel or othermaterials. Embodiments are presented in which carbon is captured duringthe fabrication process. Disclosed embodiments exploitelectroplating-based processes to generate steel or other structures atreduced cost in terms of currency and energy.

The disclosed embodiments also have the advantage of being able tofinely tune microstructure in situ, obviating or reducing the need forprocessing after fabrication. An additional advantage is the ability tocapture carbon during the production process. Prior electroplatingefforts in steel production have been limited to thin films, forexample, as taught by J.-C. Kang, S. B. Lalvani, C. A. Melendres.“Electrodeposition and characterization of amorphous Fe—Ni—Cr-basedalloys”, J. Appl. Electrochem., 25, 376-383, 1995. DOI:10.1007/BF00249658 and Hasegawa, S. Yoon, G. Guillonneau, Y. Zhang, C.,Frantz, C. Niederberger, A. Weidenkaff, J. Michler, L. Philippe, “Theelectrodeposition of FeCrNi stainless steel: microstructural changesinduced by anode reactions”, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., Volume 16, 26375,2014. DOI: 10.1039c4cp03744h, which further described the microstructureof electrodeposited steel, growing steel in single-chamber anddouble-chamber electroplating configurations. In a double-chamberelectroplating configuration, Kang et al. filled a working electrode(cathode) compartment with an electroplating bath containing thenecessary elements for depositing steel and filled the counter electrode(anode) compartment with a saturated potassium chloride solution. Thetwo compartments were connected by a salt bridge that allowed specificions to transfer between the two compartments. During electroplating,potassium ions flowed from the anode compartment to the cathodecompartment, and chloride ions flowed from the cathode compartment tothe anode compartment. Kang et al. demonstrated that nanocrystallinestructured steels were more readily achieved using double-cellelectroplating configuration than in single-chamber electroplatingconfigurations.

It should be understood that the presented disclosure permits theproduction of a macroscopic object (i.e., the produced structure) withfeatures that are dependent on micro- or nano-scale specifications. Itis known that the electroplating process may include carbon capture,such as incorporation of carbon micromaterials or nanomaterials (e.g.,carbon nanotubes or C60 buckeyballs, as taught by A K Pal et al.) orwith a carbon-containing electrolyte component such astetrabutylammonium hexafluorophosphate that uses CO2 from the atmosphere(as taught by M. Wu, R. Tang, Y. Chen, S. Wang, W. Wang, X. Chen, N.Mitsuzaki, Z. Chen. “Electrochemical reduction of CO2 to carbon films onstainless steel around room

In some embodiments, template-former 110 may be a system incorporatinglaser etching, or other editing, of a pattern in one or more sacrificialmaterials placed or cast upon one or more conductive layer, so that oneor more sections of the conductive layers are exposed to electrolyte140, thereby acting as a growth template. Such a process was disclosedin Weinberg U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/860,426 entitled“Apparatus and method for automated manufacturing of structures withelectrically conductive segments”, incorporated by reference. Theediting may include addition or removal of conductive connections fromsections of the growth template to potentiostat 145. The editing mayoccur at various operations along the process detailed in FIG. 2 , sothat deposition of certain materials occurs at some sections of thegrowth template at certain times and not at others. Template-former mayapply segments of the growth template in a reel-to-reel process.

It should be understood that template-former 110 may be completelywithin container or chamber 125, as illustrated in FIG. 1 . In analternative embodiment, template-former 110 may be in part or completelyoutside of container or chamber 125 or may travel from inside to outsidecontainer or chamber 125. It should be understood that template-former110 is under the control of a computer. The monitoring device may be anoptical camera.

A coil may be situated in the container or other structure or stream, orwithin one meter of the container or other structure or stream, to applya magnetic or electrical field to the electrolyte orstructure-in-production. It should be understood that the applicationmay assist in realization of the eventual properties of thestructure-in-production, for example, by applying a preferredorientation for growth of domains.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a multi-level three-dimensional growthtemplate 120 of Fogure 1 containing flat surfaces 210 and 220 andprojections 230, with different electrical pathways along the growthtemplate. Growth plate 120 may be modified at different times in thefabrication process, according to the method shown in FIG. 3 .

Referring to FIG. 2 , an important aspect of the disclosed embodimentsis that growth template 120 has three-dimensional features (for example,folds, holes, recesses, layers, and/or projections) so that depositionoccurs over a substantially larger effective area than in the prior art.The growth template may have internal nested portions as well. FIG. 2shows an example of a growth template with three-dimensional projectionsand layers, which could be produced using the methods of patentapplication Ser. No. 17/860,426 incorporated by reference. For example,the growth template may initially consist of one or more polyimide (orother sacrificial material) layers on a conductive backing, whereinholes may be made in the layer by a laser and conductive projections aregrown into the holes via electrodeposition of conductive material, andthe sacrificial material between the projections may be removed bysublimation or other heating, mechanical, or chemical processes. In someembodiments, the growth template may be a structure with many internalspaces produced as a sol-gel or through another chemical process.

FIG. 3 illustrates an embodiment of the method of producing a structure.In operation 310, a plan is generated with the aid of a computer, theplan to direct fabrication of a produced structure. In operation 320, asection of the growth template is fabricated or otherwise modifiedaccording to the plan of operation 310, and may include feedback tomodify the plan. In operation 330, a solution (e.g., electrolyte) and/orelectrode may be added to, removed from, or otherwise modified, withrespect to a chamber containing the growth template. In operation 340, astructure is grown using the growth template, either through anelectrical connection with an electrode (e.g., for electroplating) or asa seed (e.g., for electroless deposition). As part of operation 340,carbon may be absorbed in the structure-in-production, through theaddition of carbon-containing electrolytes or through the addition ofparticulate materials (e.g., carbon nanotubes) to the solution. Inoperation 350, the computer is informed by camera or other means as towhether the structure-in-production has been completely formed accordingto the plan of operation 310. If so, then produced structure may beremoved in operation 360. If not, then operations 320-350 may berepeated and/or operation 310 may be adjusted.

In particular, with respect to FIG. 3 , which describes an embodiment ofthe method of the invention, in operation 310 the subsequent operationsare designed by computer models which predict plating growth so as torepeatedly arrive at consistent dimensions and specifications of theproduced structure. It should be understood that the same or differentcomputer may plan the creation of the projections, and thatspecification of projections may take into account changes in surfacearea and other parameters according to the planned operations ofproduction. It should be understood that the plans made by the computermodels may be varied so as to create produced structures according tovariable specifications desired by users. Such variations may replacethe present need for crucibles or forms to create specified shapes fromsteel.

Referring to operation 320, the growth template may be completelyconstructed before operation 330 in which an electrolyte is added, orthe growth template may be modified (for example, by cutting a sectionwith a laser, or adding additional material using the template-former)while an electrolyte is present or after an electrolyte has beenremoved.

In operation 330, electrolytes, solutions, or particles may be added orremoved using feed lines to the at least one chamber. The produced partmay be added or removed or otherwise moved with respect to chamber aspart of this operation. It should be understood that non-conductivefluids may be deposited instead of electrolytes into the chamber. Forexample, covering the walls of the chamber with a conductive materialwould allow a subsequent operation of electrodeposition of a conductivelayer onto the structure-in-production to retain materials deposited bythe non-conductive fluid within the produced structure.

Referring to operation 340, carbon may be added or removed from thestructure-in-production, for example, through the addition ofcarbon-containing electrolyte taking CO2 from the atmosphere (e.g., astaught by Wu et al.) or through addition of carbon-containingmicromaterials or nanomaterials (e.g., as taught by A. K. Pal, R. K.Roy, S. K. Mandal, S. Gupta, B. Deb. “Electrodeposited carbon nanotubethin films”. Thins Solid Films 476, 288-294, 2005.). It should beunderstood that pressurization of CO2 and supply to the container orchamber may be needed. It should be understood that thestructure-in-production may be moved from one container or chamber toanother. It should be understood that the progress of the processes ofoperation 340 may be monitored, for example, with a camera, andcontrolled with a computer. During operation 340, with respect to thestructure-in-production and/or the container or chamber, energy may beadded or removed (for example, heat or light), or stirring may beapplied, or magnetic or electrical fields may be applied (for example,to establish a preferential growth direction), or gases or plasmas maybe applied (for example, to achieve a desired surface condition). Thestructure-in-production may be removed from the chamber (for example,for inspection or annealing) and then reinserted. Thestructure-in-production may be modified, for example, by heating theelectrolyte or illuminating the structure-in-production.

Referring to operation 350, a monitoring instrument may be used (forexample, with a camera or potentiostat) to establish whether thestructure-in-production is complete. If it is not complete, thenoperations 310-350 may be repeated.

Referring to FIG. 3 , operation 360, the produced structure is removed.It should be understood that additional operations (for example,polishing, annealing, removal of electrodes) may be applied to theproduced structure after this operation. For the purposes of thisdisclosure, the term “potentiostat” is defined as a device or systemthat controls the voltages and/or currents needed to conductelectroplating. Said control may be in part conducted by the computer.

For the purposes of this disclosure, the term “electrolyte or otherfluids” includes the possible addition of a surfactant, which may assistin eventual removal of the produced structure. The electrolyte or otherfluids may contain iron, and the iron may come from recycled materialsor from waste products (for example, ore tailings). Additionally, theterm “electrolyte or other fluids” includes the possible addition ofcarbon micromaterials or carbon nanomaterials which are incorporatedinto the structure-in-production during the electroplating process.

It should be understood that heating elements may be included within thecontainer or chamber 125 to conduct heating processes such as the above,and that heating elements are not shown. It should be understood thatmechanical elements (for example, stirring propellers or mechanicalarms) may be included within the container or chamber 125 to conductprocesses such as the above, and that such mechanical elements are notshown.

Since electroplating deposition is generally slow (for example, micronsper hour), having three-dimensional aspects (for example, projections orfolds) of the growth plate that effectively significantly enlarge thesurface area allows deposition to occur in many locations at once. As anexample, if the projections 330 shown in FIG. 2 are each 3 microns indiameter and 1 centimeter long, so that the area of each projection isabout 10−9 square meters. If the projections are separated in distancefrom one another by 5 microns, and the plates 310 and 320 are 10-cm by10-cm wide, then there are 400 million projections on each plate, for atotal of about one billion projections on the growth template. The totalsurface area of the projections is about 75 square meters, about amillion times more than the area of the plates alone, leading to a muchshorter deposition time (e.g., one hour) to build a centimeter-scale ormeter-scale produced structure. For the purposes of this disclosure, theincrease in surface area realized through use of the projections may beat least ten times higher than if the projections were not present. Forthe purposes of this disclosure, the increase in surface area realizedthrough use of the projections may be at least 1,000 times higher thanif the projections were not present. For the purposes of thisdisclosure, the increase in surface area realized through use of theprojections may be at least one million times higher than if theprojections were not present.

It should be understood that the structure-in-production may serve asits own container or chamber 125 (for example, if thestructure-in-production contains cavities or wells that can containelectrolytes or other fluids), or that a container or chamber may not beneeded to contain electrolytes (for example, if a source such as astream of electrolytes is poured onto a structure-in-production).

It should be understood that the growth template 120 may containsub-regions having voids full of air or other gases or non-conductivefluids that, during the electroplating process, remain unmodified voidsthat are not filled with steel or other conducting materials during theplating process.

It should be understood that the growth template 120 may containpatterns or features that, due to surface tension, do not become filledwith electrolyte 140 upon addition of the electrolyte, and thus are notfilled with electroplated material during the electroplating processStep 340.

It should be understood that the structure-in-production may be rotated,translated, or otherwise moved to assist in attaining a desired finalproduced structure.

It should be understood that although the term “steel” is used in thisdisclosure, the disclosed embodiments may be applied to producedstructures containing other structural materials (including alloys andcomposites) that may be at least in part electrically deposited. As anillustration, disclosed embodiments may be used to “grow a car”.

It should be understood that although the term “structural” is used inthis disclosure, the disclosed embodiments may be applied to makeproduced structures in sheets that may subsequently be formed or cut.

It should be understood that several reference electrodes may be usedfor multi-location monitoring of the current in the system. Likewise, itshould be understood that numerous conducting wires or other electricalconnections may be used to connect one or more sections of thestructure-in-production or the growth-template to the potentiostat.

It should be understood that the ability to customize the composition ofthe steel structures using the methods and apparatus disclosed hereinwill allow the manufacturing of steel components with minimal or no needfor rare earths or other rare materials that might be difficult toprocure. It should be understood that the nanoscale control ofcomposition allows the designer to take advantage of physical phenomenathat are only observable in such small scales.

It should be understood that at least one of the deposited materials maybe magnetizable, and that preferential directions of magnetizationduring the production process may be created through application of amagnetic field or electric during some operations of the fabricationprocess.

It should be understood that at least one of the deposited materials maybe ferroelectric or magnetoferroic, and that preferential directions ofmagnetization or electrical polarization during the production processmay be created through application of a magnetic or electrical fieldduring the fabrication process. It should be understood that at leastone of the deposited materials may be antiferromagnetic or paramagnetic.

It should be understood that a heating element (for example, a heatingcoil near an electrode structure) in the apparatus or a heating periodmay be included in method in order to cure fluids or anneal steelmaterials at some point during the production process.

It should be understood that the mechanical properties of the structuresproduced with the disclosed embodiments will be dependent on the natureof the materials deposited and on the thicknesses and orientations ofthe structures constructed. For the purposes of this disclosure the termsteel materials may include the entire range of steel compositions andsteel alloys, other composite materials incorporating steel, or otherlayered materials that incorporate steel. It should be understood thatthe thicknesses of at least one of the materials will be less than 10centimeters, 10 millimeters, one-micron, or less than 100 nanometers, orless than 10 nanometers, or less than 5 nanometers. It should beunderstood that the magnetic and mechanical properties of the structuresproduced with the disclosed embodiments may be due to interactions (forexample, exchange interactions) between various materials deposited toform the produced structure.

It should be understood that considerable energy savings may be achievedusing the disclosed embodiments to produce steel or other structuralmaterials. For example, under conventional hydrogen-furnace methods, ithas been estimated that it would require 10 Terawatt-hours to produce 2million tons of steel. Under the disclosed method, it could require 2Terawatt-hours.

In some embodiments apparatus comprises a template-former or similarmaterial-producing component that produces conducting material to buildat least one segment of a growth template, the growth template having asurface area containing three-dimensional features; a container whichincludes or retains electrolytes or other fluids from which materialsare deposited, removed, or modified onto the growth template or to astructure-in-production; a potentiostat or other controllable voltagesource to control the deposition, removal, or modification; at least oneelectrode to implement said deposition, removal, or modification; acomputer to plan and control said deposition, removal, or modification;and a monitoring device that is used by the computer to plan and controlsaid deposition, removal, or modification.

The surface area of the growth template may be at least ten times higherthan it would be without the three-dimensional features. The surfacearea of the growth template may be at least 1,000 times higher than itwould be without the three-dimensional features. The surface area of thegrowth template may be at least one million times higher than it wouldbe without the three-dimensional features.

The electrolyte or other fluid may contain carbon that is deposited ontothe structure-in-production.

The monitoring device may be an optical camera.

Heating elements may be in the container. Mechanical elements may be inthe container.

The template-former may be a wire spooler.

At least one segment of the growth plate may be formed from an editablestructure.

A coil may be situated near or in the container to apply a magnetic orelectrical field.

The template-former includes an editing tool. The editing tool may be alaser. The editing tool may be a discharge-forming electrode.

The electrolytes or other fluids may contain iron. The electrolytes orother fluids may contain carbon. The carbon may be in the form orparticles. The carbon may be in the form of carbon dioxide derived fromthe atmosphere.

A method for building structures comprises planning, via a computer,construction of a growth template and deposition, removal, ormodification of materials onto the growth template andstructure-in-production; production of one or more sections of a growthtemplate; adding, removing, or modifying of electrolytes or other fluidsfrom which materials are to be deposited, removed, or modified onto saidgrowth template or structure-in-production in a container which includesand retains the electrolytes or other fluids; growing, removing ormodifying of materials on the growth template or structure-in-productionvia at least one electrode and a potentiostat or other controllablevoltage source; monitoring the structure-in-production via a monitoringdevice; repeating one or more of the above operations; and removing theproduced structure, wherein the growth template orstructure-in-production contains three-dimensional structures.

A computer model may be used to predict plating growth and modificationso as to repeatedly arrive at consistent component dimensions of theproduced structure.

The growth template or structure-in-production may be moved to obtaindesired end-product characteristics.

At least one electrolyte or other fluids may contain surfactant.

At least one electrolyte or other fluids may contain titanium. At leastone electrolyte or other fluids may contain gold. At least oneelectrolyte or other fluids may contain chromium. At least oneelectrolyte or other fluids may contain iron. At least one electrolyteor other fluids may contain carbon. At least one electrolyte or otherfluids may contain carbon from the atmosphere. More carbon is removedfrom the atmosphere than is added to the atmosphere.

The produced structure may contain steel. The growth template orstructure-in-production may contain voids that persist unmodified,remaining full or air or gas or non-conducting material during theplating procedure, and are incorporated into the produced structure. Theproduced structure may contain polymers. One of the polymers may beconductive.

The three-dimensional structures may comprise one or more of asprojections, holes, layers, folds, or recesses, that increase theeffective surface area of the growth template. The effective surfacearea may be at least 1,000 times more than if the three-dimensionalstructures were not present. The effective surface area may be at leastone million times more than if the three-dimensional structures were notpresent.

The three-dimensional structures may be fabricated using chemical means.The three-dimensional structures may be fabricated with an editing tool.The editing tool may be a laser. The editing tool may bedischarge-forming electrode.

Annealing, curing, or other processes may be applied while the producedstructures are in the container.

The growth template may be formed using a reel to reel process.

Magnetic or electrical fields may applied during the production processto magnetize or polarize one or more of the deposited materials.

Those skilled in the art will recognize, upon consideration of the aboveteachings, that the above exemplary embodiments and the control systemmay be based upon use of one or more programmed processors programmedwith a suitable computer program. However, the disclosed embodimentscould be implemented using hardware component equivalents such asspecial purpose hardware and/or dedicated processors. Similarly, generalpurpose computers, microprocessor based computers, micro-controllers,optical computers, analog computers, dedicated processors, applicationspecific circuits and/or dedicated hard wired logic may be used toconstruct alternative equivalent embodiments.

Moreover, it should be understood that control and cooperation of theabove-described components may be provided using software instructionsthat may be stored in a tangible, non-transitory storage device such asa non-transitory computer readable storage device storing instructionswhich, when executed on one or more programmed processors, carry out heabove-described method operations and resulting functionality. In thiscase, the term “non-transitory” is intended to preclude transmittedsignals and propagating waves, but not storage devices that are erasableor dependent upon power sources to retain information.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate, upon consideration of theabove teachings, that the program operations and processes andassociated data used to implement certain of the embodiments describedabove can be implemented using disc storage as well as other forms ofstorage devices including, but not limited to non-transitory storagemedia (where non-transitory is intended only to preclude propagatingsignals and not signals which are transitory in that they are erased byremoval of power or explicit acts of erasure) such as for example, ReadOnly Memory (ROM) devices, Random Access Memory (RAM) devices, networkmemory devices, optical storage elements, magnetic storage elements,magneto-optical storage elements, flash memory, core memory and/or otherequivalent volatile and non-volatile storage technologies withoutdeparting from certain embodiments. Such alternative storage devicesshould be considered equivalents.

While various exemplary embodiments have been described above, it shouldbe understood that they have been presented by way of example only, andnot limitation. Thus, the breadth and scope of the present inventionshould not be limited by any of the above-described exemplaryembodiments but should instead be defined only in accordance with thefollowing claims and their equivalents.

What is claimed:
 1. An apparatus comprising: a template-former orsimilar material-producing component that produces conducting materialto build at least one segment of a growth template, the growth templatehaving a surface area containing three-dimensional features; a containerwhich includes or retains electrolytes or other fluids from whichmaterials are deposited, removed, or modified onto the growth templateor to a structure-in-production; a potentiostat or other controllablevoltage source to control the deposition, removal, or modification; atleast one electrode to implement said deposition, removal, ormodification; a computer to plan and control the deposition, removal, ormodification; and a monitoring device that is used by the computer toplan and control said deposition, removal, or modification.
 2. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein the surface area of the growth template isat least ten times higher than it would be without the three-dimensionalfeatures.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the surface area of thegrowth template is at least 1,000 times higher than it would be withoutthe three-dimensional features.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein thesurface area of the growth template is at least one million times higherthan it would be without the three-dimensional features.
 5. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein the monitoring device is an opticalcamera.
 6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the template-former is awire spooler.
 7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least one segmentof the growth plate is formed from an editable structure.
 8. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein a coil is situated near or in thecontainer to apply a magnetic or electrical field.
 9. The apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein the template-former includes an editing tool.
 10. Amethod for building structures, the method including: planning, via acomputer, construction of a growth template and deposition, removal, ormodification of materials onto the growth template andstructure-in-production; production of one or more sections of a growthtemplate; adding, removing, or modifying of electrolytes or other fluidsfrom which materials are to be deposited, removed, or modified onto saidgrowth template or structure-in-production in a container which includesand retains the electrolytes or other fluids; growing, removing ormodifying of materials on the growth template or structure-in-productionvia at least one electrode and a potentiostat or other controllablevoltage source; monitoring the structure-in-production via a monitoringdevice; repeating one or more of the above operations; and removing theproduced structure, wherein the growth template orstructure-in-production contains three-dimensional structures.
 11. Themethod of claim 10, wherein a computer model is used to predict platinggrowth and modification so as to repeatedly arrive at consistentcomponent dimensions of the produced structure.
 12. The method of claim10, wherein the growth template or structure-in-production is moved toobtain desired end-product characteristics.
 13. The method of claim 10,wherein the produced structure contains steel.
 14. The method of claim10, wherein the growth template or structure-in-production containsvoids that persist unmodified, remaining full or air or gas ornon-conducting material during the growing procedure, and areincorporated into the produced structure.
 15. The method of claim 10,wherein the produced structure contains polymers.
 16. The method ofclaim 10, wherein the three-dimensional structures comprise one or moreof as projections, holes, layers, folds, or recesses, that increase theeffective surface area of the growth template.
 17. The method of claim10, wherein the effective surface area is at least 1,000 times more thanif the three-dimensional structures were not present.
 18. The method ofclaim 10, wherein the effective surface area is at least one milliontimes more than if the three-dimensional structures were not present.19. The method of claim 10, wherein the three-dimensional structures arefabricated with an editing tool.
 20. The method of claim 10, whereinmagnetic or electrical fields are applied during the production processto magnetize or polarize one or more of the deposited materials.